Last chance for many in Patriots uniforms tonight

After tonight's preseason game against the Giants, the team must cut to the regular-season limit of 53 players by 6 p.m. Saturday.

Glen Farley The Enterprise @GFarley_ent

FOXBORO – Last call.

What last Friday night’s 30-7 win over the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium was to many of the Patriots’ regulars, tonight’s game with the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium (7:30: Channels 4 & 12; WBZ-FM/98.5) will be to many of their irregulars.

Which is to say it is their most important game of the preseason.

If last Friday night’s game was the so-called dress rehearsal for the regulars – the preseason game that most closely resembles a regular-season contest – tonight’s will be the game in which many others see their hopes for employment in the NFL stripped.

A game that is otherwise so insignificant it doesn’t warrant a start by Tom Brady is the last opportunity for those on the bubble – players whose names may or may not soon be appearing on a transactions list near you – to strut their stuff.

With final cuts looming this weekend, tonight is the last chance to separate the summertime’s contenders from its pretenders.

While Brian Tyms’ numbers – nine receptions (second only to Julian Edelman’s 10 on the team) for a team-best 163 yards and two touchdowns (tied with Shane Vereen for the team lead) – would seem to warrant a job, the makeup of the Patriots’ roster is such that there are no guarantees.

Heck, if a six-time Pro Bowler like Logan Mankins can get traded, there aren’t any certainties for a free agent who’s previously been cut by three other teams.

“That’s pretty much been my approach since I came in. You know what I’m saying?” the wide receiver said. “I was a free agent (when he signed with the San Francisco 49ers coming out of college). I came from a small school (Florida A&M), didn’t have a lot of experience in football, so there’s always doubters and I’m always at the bottom of the totem pole.

“So coming from the bottom is not really a problem for me. I approach every day, even in practice, like I have something to prove. I’m very competitive.”

Unlike Tyms, rookie quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo’s NFL life won’t be on the line tonight, but he will have something to prove.

Boasting a passer rating of 129.8 (24 for 37 for 334 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions) this summer, Garoppolo could take another giant step forward if he enjoys any measure of success in his first start.

“It’s the opportunity that matters,” said Garoppolo. “As long as you get an opportunity, take advantage of that, just showcase what you can do with the players around you, that’s all you can really ask for.”

MetLife Stadium is Garoppolo’s stage tonight.

“I think the experience for Jimmy will be one that will just be good for him, going through the whole process,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. “I’m sure he’ll learn a lot.”

Many of those who suit up tonight will earn their fates this weekend – and the news won’t be pleasant.

With final cuts to 53 looming and the Patriots’ roster at the current league limit of 75, the bottom line is that 20 or more of the players currently on the team’s roster will be on the move, in one respect or another, by 6 p.m. Saturday.

Note that neither Tyms nor cornerback Brandon Browner, both of whom face four-game, league-imposed suspensions at the season’s outset, do not apply to the 53 so the Patriots could actually carry 55 into the regular-season opener at Miami on Sept. 7.

Be it 53 or 55, bodies will be in motion by nightfall on Saturday.

“It’s a big game for me,” second-year defensive end Michael Buchanan said. “It’s a big game for a lot of the younger guys here. It’s the last test to prove ourselves so it’s definitely going to be a big challenge, but I’m looking forward to it.”